Port Shepstone

Norwegian immigration to Port Shepstone began in the late 19th century, when 246 Norwegians (along with 175 Briton and 112 German settlers) came ashore with a steamship which arrived in 1882.[3] The soon-to-be settlers founded a nearby interior village within the same year, known as Marburg. The Norwegian settlers played a large role in the development of not only Marburg, but also Port Shepstone and nearby areas.[4][5] Norwegian immigration to the region was a result of the Natal Immigration Board’s efforts to claim land for Europeans in South Africa. When the Norwegians first arrived, they were the largest European group in Alfred County. Remains of the Norwegian presence can still be seen today in certain places of the town, such as, Fredheim and Oslo Beach, with its main street King Haakon Drive.[6]

The Norwegians erected a Norwegian Lutheran church, school, cultural hall, choir, and rowing club. A newspaper in Norwegian language was also distributed in Port Shepstone. Drinks such as akvavit and cuisine, including cheese from soured milk, were easily accessible.[7] When the Norwegians arrived, few European settlers lived in the area and the town of Port Shepstone consisted of one hotel, two cabins, one shop, and little else.[8]

Port Shepstone was declared “a full fiscal port’ in 1893, and after Durban officially became the region’s second harbour. Eventually, though, the ongoing wreckages and arrival of the railway, was to see the gradual closure of the harbour and the start of the real Port Shepstone boom.[9]

When the railroad arrived in Port Shepstone in 1901, the travel time to Durban was reduced to five hours, and the town became far less isolated. The railway connection opened for increased immigration for other settlers, and the Norwegians were soon outnumbered by German and British settlers. Between 1911 and 1912, the number of students at the Norwegian school became too low for the school to keep open, and it consequentially closed.[10][9]

In 1950, the Group Areas Act. racially divided Port Shepstone similar to many other towns and cities in South Africa. Port Shepstone proper (Sheppie) was classified "white" and was managed by its town board. The "white" suburbs of the town included the little coastal villages of Umtentweni, Sea Park, Southport, Anerley and Sunwich Port to the north and Oslo Beach to the south. To the west, Marburg was classified as an "Indian area" which was one of the four Indian proclaimed townships in the KwaZulu-Natal province and Merlewood was classified as a "Coloured area" with 3000 Coloureds as its first people settling there. In the late 1960s, Albersville, just west of the CBD was classified as an "Indian area".

The N2 highway that cuts through Port Shepstone acted as a border between the "non-white" areas to the west and the "white" areas to the east (excluding Albersville) which was planned by apartheid planners.

At the time, there was no township present in Port Shepstone due to the management of the "black" area which was creating a problem because the Nsimbini Tribal Authority claimed the extension of their territory on white land which was their in the past. The Grand Apartheid policies initiated in the 60’s is going to include the two “villages” of Boboyi and Murchison in the KwaZulu bantustan.

The 2011 census listed the following areas as sub-places under the main place of Port Shepstone:[11]

• Albersville
• Anerley
• Bomela
• Broadview Estate
• Grosvenor
• Lion's Grove
• Louisiana
• Merlewood
• Marburg
• Mzimakwe
• Oslo Beach
• Port Shepstone proper
• Sea Park
• Southport
• Sunwich Port
• Umbango
• Umtentweni

Port Shepstone as a large town is the main economic hub on the South Coast with a diverse economy, ranging from manufacturing, commerce, service, hospitality, mining and service providing companies.

Despite forming part of a network of coastal resorts, Port Shepstone is still able display itself as an administrative, industrial and economic centre. Owing to its regional status and central location, the town has become a hub for shopping, other services and employment for surrounding farming communities, smaller towns, and coastal resorts.

Port Shepstone is the main industrial centre on the South Coast, mainly served by the industrial suburb of Marburg. The town's industries also include Illovo Sugar's Umzimkhulu Sugar Mill, a lime works and a marble quarry. Additionally, timber, wattle bark and sub-tropical fruit are produced in the district.[13][14]

Port Shepstone serves as a shopping centre for the small settlements and countryside surrounding extending as far as Gamalakhe, Murchison, eZinqoleni and St Faith’s. Along with Shelly Beach and Margate, Port Shepstone serves as one of the main retail centres on the South Coast with a large amount of retail amenities centralised within its CBD, characterised mainly by high street shopping.

Port Shepstone is mainly served by the Oribi Plaza Shopping Centre in the CBD. There are three other shopping malls in the CBD serving Port Shepstone including Sheppie Mall, Ithala Centre and Bargain City Centre. However, the neighbouring coastal town of Shelly Beach contains larger shopping centres such as Southcoast Mall and Shelly Centre that offer a wider variety of retail outlets.[15]

Although Port Shepstone is a regional economic centre at its core, it does house a few tourist attractions which include: The Mzimkhulu River marina has leisure boat trips on the river in which people can admire the rich wildlife and bird life along the banks of the river;[16] the Port Shepstone Museum which includes the town's history with a series of exhibits carrying a maritime theme and the Port Shepstone Lighthouse, which has a 27 000 candela lighthouse that still stands at the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River. The present day cast iron lighthouse was erected during 1906 and can still be explored today.[17][18]

In addition to the Port Shepstone Beach, the town offers a number of beaches within its vicinity including Anerley Beach, Banana Beach, Melville Beach, Oslo Beach, Sea Park Beach, Southport Beach, Sunwich Port Beach and Umtentweni Beach (Tweni Beach).

Port Shepstone also serves as the gateway to the numerous attractions along the South Coast namely the Oribi Gorge (21 km west of Port Shepstone), Aliwal Shoal, Umtanvuma Nature Reserve, Pure Venom Reptile Farm and the Riverbend Crocodile Farm among others.[19][20]

The nearest airport is Margate Airport, which is located in the namesake town and is about 20 km south-west of Port Shepstone. The airport is small-scale, and only offers one scheduled domestic route to Johannesburg. King Shaka International Airport, near Durban, is about 158 km north-east of Port Shepstone and has many domestic and international air routes.

Bus companies that operate long-distance routes to and from Port Shepstone include Intercape, Intercity, Greyhound and Citiliner. These buses normally terminate in and around the CBD, near Port Shepstone High School, Shell petrol station or opposite Oribi Plaza Shopping Centre.[24][25]

Port Shepstone railway station opened in 1917, serving as both the southern terminus of the Cape gauge line from & to Durban, as well as the southern coastal terminus of the narrow gauge Alfred County Railway to Harding.

After the standard gauge Transnet passenger services shut down in 1986, the ACR continued operations until 2005, when the famous Banana Express ceased operation.[26]

Exit 51 of the N2 highway in Port Shepstone with a board sign indicating the exit to Port Shepstone North and St Faith's[27]

Port Shepstone is the meeting point of three major routes (N2, R61 and R102) named Marburg Interchange or exit 45. The N2 is a national route that runs roughly N to S from Durban to Port Shepstone and is tolled at the Oribi Toll Plaza in Marburg before diverging to the west towards Kokstad and further to major towns and cities such as Mthatha, East London, Gqeberha and Cape Town. The R102 is the older section of the N2, now serving as the untolled alternative route to the current N2 and connects Port Shepstone with the coastal towns of Melville and Hibberdene to the north as Harding Road and Marine Drive. The R61 is a provincial route connecting Port Shepstone with Margate and Port Edward and further with Mbizana and Mthatha and is also tolled at the Oribi Toll Plaza.

Now, there is currently construction of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Route,[28][29] which will effectively re-designate the R61 highway heading south from the Marburg Interchange past Port Edward as the N2 (it will no-longer be designated as the R61) once the new route is complete. Also, the road from Marburg westwards past Kokstad will effectively be re-designated as the R102 (it will no-longer be designated as the N2).

Port Shepstone is the northern end of the R620 running roughly southwards along the coast from the R102 towards Shelly Beach, Uvongo, Margate, Ramsgate and Southbroom and is the untolled alternative route to the R61. Smaller routes in Port Shepstone include: Rethman Drive connecting Umtentweni to St Faith’s in the rural hinterland and Izotsha Road connecting Marburg with Izotsha and Gamalakhe to the south.

Two primary hospitals in the CBD serve Port Shepstone, Port Shepstone Regional Hospital and Hibiscus Hospital Port Shepstone. Port Shepstone Regional Hospital is the largest government-funded hospital on the South Coast, aimed at serving the region, while Hibiscus Hospital Port Shepstone is a private hospital and the flagship of the Hibiscus Hospital Group.[30][31]

Port Shepstone is served by three clinics in the CBD, Umtentweni and Marburg. Port Shepstone (in the CBD) and Umtentweni clinics operate as municipal clinics under the Ugu District Municipality, while Marburg Clinic operates as a provincial clinic under the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department.[32]